Distribution servers and other deployment platforms are available for managed network applications which configure the distribution of software to target machines on a network-wide basis. In available deployment platforms, a distribution server can be set up to communicate with the target machines or other nodes of a managed network, and initiate the delivery and installation of software to those nodes. In cases, the provisioning may be the original operating system installation for a new machine, or may be software updates, including operating system or application updates, to existing targets or other hardware.
In conventional deployment platforms, the distribution server can act as a repository for the software images needed for software installations, and communicate with the target machines via application programming interfaces (APIs) and connections to supervisory hosts or target machines which are prepared to receive the installation. However, deployment platforms as currently implemented can involve certain drawbacks or limitations. For one, in general for existing deployment platforms to conduct installation activity, a set of messages must be sent on a point-to-point basis between some type of provisioning server and recipient hosts or targets. That is, installation events depend and take place based on positive communication events between deployment servers and nodes in the managed network. There is no capability in such networks for the ongoing monitoring or surveillance of all installation-related activity. As a result, for example, applications or application servers or other entities which may wish to prepare an installation package for newly-installed machines may not become aware of the existence of newly instantiated machines until a separate command arrives addressed to them that notifies them of that event. For another, in general existing deployment platforms rely upon a set of installation-related commands called via a defined API, which requires that all participating targets and other nodes in the network be configured to interpret that API. As a result, clients, devices, or other machines introduced into the managed network that do not host that API may be unable to receive installation-related services. It may be desirable to provide methods and systems for message-based installation management using a message bus, in which provisioning requests and events can be deployed as universal services across a managed network.